zachbot3000 United States · he/him Followers 0 Following 0 Following Follow Follows you Overview Diary Badges Statistics Reviews My Stories My Completed Stories My Favourite Stories ♥ My Rated Stories 1 ★ 2 ★ 3 ★ 4 ★ 5 ★ Stories I have reviewed Stories I own My Saved Stories My Completed, Unrated Stories My Skipped Stories My Next Story My Uncompleted Stories My Unreviewed Stories Stories I do not own My Collectables My Owned Collectables My Unowned Collectables My Saved Collectables (Wishlist) My Quotes My Favourite Quotes My Submitted Quotes Sort: Newest First Oldest First Most Likes Highest Rating Lowest Rating Spoilers First Spoilers Last 35 reviews zachbot3000 has submitted 35 reviews and received 21 likes Showing 1 - 25 of 35 member's reviews 12Next → 11 April 2025 · 1 word 60th Anniversary Specials (Children in Need) (Minisode)Destination: Skaro zachbot3000 Review of Destination: Skaro by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 Fun!!!!! zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 72 words (Children in Need) (Minisode)Born Again / Pudsey Cutaway zachbot3000 1 Review of Born Again / Pudsey Cutaway by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This is an important narrative step for viewers who didn't really understand what regeneration was all about. I think it's the only Children in Need special that doesn't focus on humor, which makes it a bit more interesting historically. Other than that, it's merely a deleted scene from The Christmas Invasion but is fun to see how new Tennant was in the role, still trying to figure out who he could be. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 20 words (Children in Need) (Minisode)Time Crash zachbot3000 1 Review of Time Crash by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 It is so nice that David Tennant used his charity wish to do a short episode with his favorite doctor. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 101 words 60th Anniversary Specials • Episode 3The Giggle zachbot3000 Spoilers 1 Review of The Giggle by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! Of the three specials, this has the heaviest lift in terms of moving the pieces around for the future. Overall, a success but would have loved if it was a half hour longer so we could spend more time with The Toymaker. NPH was deliciously evil in the part but I needed more than a few monologues to make this feel like a proper scary standoff. Wasn't on board with the bi-generation until I realized that this is how we get The Curator and now it is perfect. I hope every ten years, we get a new chapter in his journeys! zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 106 words 60th Anniversary Specials • Episode 2Wild Blue Yonder zachbot3000 Spoilers 2 Review of Wild Blue Yonder by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! OH MY GOD THAT WAS TERRIFYING. Not enough can be said for this crew's specific ability of nailing tone. Abject terror flows from the point of Tennant putting his face to the glass and Donna realizing how far she is from her family, light, and all of existence. Genuinely frightened every time they all stared each other down. The budget is on full display here but it's those old darkened corridors and tight script that gets the job done. God bless Davies for doing what needed to be acknowledged re: the Flux. Who better than Tennant to grapple with The Doctor's failings. Magnificent work all around. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 2 11 April 2025 · 79 words 60th Anniversary Specials • Episode 1The Star Beast zachbot3000 Spoilers 1 Review of The Star Beast by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! I have nothing critical to add because this brought me back to when I first started watching Doctor Who except now I am older but yes I will still ugly sob for The Doctor and Donna!!! I feel like The Doctor openly saying how much he loves Donna and Wilf is because of his time as Jodie, which I quite enjoy. Everything about Rose made my heart soar. More of this please. We need so much more of this. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 141 words Doctor Who Specials The Waters of Mars zachbot3000 Spoilers 2 Review of The Waters of Mars by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! I have always held this one up as one of the best and upon rewatching it, I somehow think I was STILL UNDERESTIMATING IT! Really quite enamored with the set design and art direction here. It feels so classically sci-fi. Like right out of a battered paperback. The villains design is simple yet truly terrifying in its execution. Kind of like the 456 in Torchwood, their attack is so simple but the cinematography and the score never let the budget restraints show too much. It's been awhile since Tennant had a decent scene partner and his work with Lindsey Duncan is SO GOOD!!!! I can't describe how devastating Tennant's turn is. Everything in the sequence of him walking away pays off in such a beautiful subversion of our established hero's trademark. It's terrifying. It's fantastic. I want to kiss it to death. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 2 11 April 2025 · 48 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialThe Next Doctor zachbot3000 1 Review of The Next Doctor by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 I love how immediately delighted the tenth doctor is when he thinks he's met a future version of himself. The main story is a bit dull but also giant steampunk robot plus some more fun what makes the doctor the doctor type questions make for an enjoyable romp! zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 89 words Doctor Who Specials Planet of the Dead zachbot3000 Spoilers 1 Review of Planet of the Dead by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! The very simple structure of it feels very similar to a classic era Who story, which I enjoyed! That one tiny scene of Malcolm standing up to Captain Magambo and then her own shocked reaction to both his bravery and how she realizes what she's capable of. WOW. I think when I first saw this, I didn't like it because I felt it was slight and didn't have any narrative weight. But knowing what's coming next, I think it's good we got one more light hearted romp in here. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 19 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialVoyage of the Damned zachbot3000 Spoilers Review of Voyage of the Damned by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! I don't like that Rickson lives and my beloved Foon and Morvin die! Otherwise a very silly fun romp! zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 18 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialThe Runaway Bride zachbot3000 Spoilers Review of The Runaway Bride by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! Love that Donna said hell no I'm not going with you wtf you tried to kill them kids. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 216 words Doctor Who Specials The Day of the Doctor zachbot3000 Spoilers Review of The Day of the Doctor by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! I had forgotten how great the setup for this special was. The editing and the structure to get us our three doctors is fun, informative for the plot and gives you a clear sense of The Doctor's identity. All performances are terrific (except for Tennant's hair which should be doing the spiky swoop thing). Some of the cinematography is a bit odd and jarring. Mostly some hand held shots that seem less stylistic in nature and more of a time saver. Tom Baker's cameo brings me so much joy. His every gesture and cadence choice feels directly attached to his run on the show. A legend. Might just run off to buy some more of his Big Finish ranges right now! When this aired, I hated the retcon. Gallifrey being burned to the ground in the time war was pivotal to The Doctor's identity in the new era. A horrible decision which puts so much dramatic tension on his shoulders. It set the stakes for Eccleston's run and has carried through with every calculation made by The Doctor. Upon this rewatch, I don't know what to make of it. Perhaps it doesn't matter. What matters is that, after all those years, he dared to find another way. And that's The Doctor we all know and love. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 126 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialThe Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe zachbot3000 Spoilers Review of The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! Why do I always weep when Madge steers the trees home?????? One of the best scripts Moffat ever wrote. So charged full of sweet tender emotion, my heart flutters with every scene. Almost every line is either a funny joke or a cutting human truth packaged perfectly. Just absolute banger after banger of lines where Moffat goes "huh have you noticed the underlining meaning of this old phrase we say all the time?" And it works on me every time!!!! Everyone is acting aces throughout. Matt Smith does a beautiful wacky performance and knows how to undercut it at the right time. And Madge. Oh, Madge. The best mom there ever was. Madge remains the only person to be absolutely unimpressed with the TARDIS taking off. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 108 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialThe Snowmen zachbot3000 Review of The Snowmen by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 Better than I remembered but still feels off. Moffat really leaning into The Doctor feeling depressed post Amy and Rory is kinda boring. I like Matt Smith playing The Doctor as an old man but the material doesn't fit. Is he old or does he just miss his mates? Moffat loves his wink wink lines, some of them work and some of them make me groan. It sometimes gives the impression that he's over it, that he's now above the material. It's a hard transition from his earlier fairy tale work into a new era but I love Clara so much, I'm willing to look past the trappings. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 29 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialA Christmas Carol zachbot3000 Review of A Christmas Carol by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 I always kind of think of this one as a lesser special but upon this rewatch I remember that it's actually one of the best! Very Christmas, very hopeful. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 95 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialThe Time of the Doctor zachbot3000 Review of The Time of the Doctor by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 It's amazing that even though I have so many problems with Matt Smith's era, I still cry when he says goodbye. He's so magnificent in this role, capable of flying between grief and joy in mere seconds. Is it a little frustrating how Moffat keeps setting up bigger and bigger questions only to sidestep them and tell us that they never mattered anyway? Yes. But putting The Doctor on a planet called Christmas for hundreds of years to defend a small village from every alien he's ever faced is the perfect send off for Eleven. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 112 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialTwice Upon a Time zachbot3000 Spoilers Review of Twice Upon a Time by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! I think Capaldi will never have a role that he totally owns quite as much as The Doctor. Which is quite a feat considering how many actors have played the part before and after his tenure. I only wish Moffat would get out of the way so we could really fully appreciate him some more. I dislike how they handled Bill's death in the finale and her scenes here do make up for never getting a real goodbye scene with The Doctor. The Leftbridge-Stewart reveal worked on me more than I thought it would, especially his first salute to The Doctor!!!! "Laugh hard. Run Fast. Be Kind." Splendid all the way down. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 66 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialThe Return of Doctor Mysterio zachbot3000 Review of The Return of Doctor Mysterio by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 Decent enough! A year since the last momentous emotional Christmas special and no regular season in between makes this kind of like a bonus treat for making us wait. I know I've said it in a lot of other reviews but my goodness Capaldi is so charming. Makes up for the lackluster plot. Also just now picked up on why he says 24 years. That's so good. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 80 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialThe Husbands of River Song zachbot3000 Review of The Husbands of River Song by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 A really fun romp, full of screwball comedy moments. After the seriousness of season 9, it's a relief to see The Doctor having fun. Capaldi is so terrific here, his version of a person seeing the TARDIS for the first time is incredible. All of his little expressions are gold. This is the closest we'll ever get to having River Song be the main character (aside from her Big Finish adventures). Really puzzling why they wouldn't give her a spinoff series. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 64 words Doctor Who Specials • Christmas SpecialLast Christmas zachbot3000 1 Review of Last Christmas by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 The beginning of Moffat's run where he tried to subvert all the tropes that he spent so long mastering. It leads to some real clunkers but for now, this special feels fresh and fun and does a great job of focusing on Clara and The Doctor's relationship. I think it's also the rare Christmas special where it moves the plot of the show forward. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 174 words Doctor Who S8 • Episode 1Deep Breath zachbot3000 Spoilers 1 Review of Deep Breath by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! Not as bad as I remembered it being. Still has a lot of pacing issues. There are a number of scenes that could be cut and you wouldn't miss them at all. Strax doing a medical examination of Clara? Nobody needs! Capaldi is superb right out of the gate and Clara continues to shape up into being more than her shitty origin story stuck her with. I do hate how much Moffat falls back on the lazy joke of oh aliens not understanding human behavior. Strax offering Clara a bucket of water, this is humor? Also slightly resent how much the show felt it needed to convince people to give Capaldi a shot after their hot boyfriend Matt Smith left. I know the reasons why they had to do it and I know they took a huge hit in the ratings department but he's too incredible in the role for anyone to doubt him. Plus that teaser at the end? Welcome to a whole new show and boy oh boy it's gonna be fun. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 244 words Doctor Who Specials The Power of the Doctor zachbot3000 Spoilers Review of The Power of the Doctor by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! SCREAMED for every bit of fan service. Chibnall did more to honor the classic era than Moffat did in the 50th and for that I thank him. Not enough praise can be given for Sacha Dhawan. He manages to be bombastic while still quickly pivoting to the sadness underneath. It's hardly even a pivot, it all somehow exists in the same moment. Wish we had more time with Jodie. A bit odd that she's the only doctor who splits her last episode with previous versions of herself. She's been so wonderful in this role. Always trying to just have some fun with her friends. I love her wit, her childish glee at the unexplored, and her kindness. Yaz piloting the TARDIS and saving The Doctor is amazing and I will FOREVER BE UPSET THAT THEY DIDN'T AT LEAST KISS ONCE!!!!! I'm docking this half a star because I think the last two scenes shouldn't have been intercut. The support group should have played first and then give the rest over to The Doctor's final now. I started rewatching new who and all its spinoff shows in air date order back in January and somehow managed to finish the rewatch two days before this premiered. I have loved my time watching The Doctor wander through galaxies helping those in need and above all else, running as fast as they could. Whatta run for a show. I loved every bit of it with all my hearts. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 98 words Doctor Who Specials Legend of the Sea Devils zachbot3000 Review of Legend of the Sea Devils by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 All of the stars are for Yaz and The Doctor. This episode feels so off in its editing and staging. Generously, I feel like that had to be from filming in covid times. But still feels really weird to watch a sword fight and feel zero excitement whatsoever. I hope in the years to come, we'll get to hear what happened behind the scenes. I'm hoping this proves to be the Planet of the Dead for Jodie's last run. A semi decent special before the next one that delivers on everything we come to expect from Doctor Who. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 0 11 April 2025 · 85 words Doctor Who S11 • Episode 1The Woman Who Fell to Earth zachbot3000 Spoilers 1 Review of The Woman Who Fell to Earth by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! Proper quips, good villain and JODIE!!!!!!! Love that she built her own sonic and LOVE how fast she's like "yup we're best friends!" Also Grace would have been a terrific full season companion and as much as I love Graham, he feels like the inverse of a typical DW companion. Which I guess is to be expected from an old show in its 11th series. And yes of course I am now reading into every glance Yaz and The Doctor share together I AM INCONSOLABLE zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 11 April 2025 · 131 words Doctor Who Specials • New Year SpecialRevolution of the Daleks zachbot3000 Spoilers 1 Review of Revolution of the Daleks by zachbot3000 11 April 2025 This review contains spoilers! Overall enjoyed this special but felt like time could have been spent better. For instance, I don't need ten minutes of explanation up top about how the Dalek casing was resurrected. That time could have been better spent with Ryan and Graham seeing as its their last episode. Also maybe give Yaz more time to process why The Doctor leaving her behind affected her so much! I'm pointing these things out because the rest of the special is fun. For once, Chibnall comes up with a solution to fighting the big bad that is both clever and not completely out of left field. Also Captain Jack telling The Doctor how Gwen is doing and that he's going to spend time with her on earth now made me grin like a madman. zachbot3000 View profile Like Liked 1 12Next → Sorting and filtering coming soon!